Happy B-Day Craigers!!

Okay well belated birthday, this cute man turned 29 yesterday! In honor of Craig's birthday here are 29 reasons why I love this man to death!

1. Family always comes first to him

2. He has his "own things" that he enjoys...hunting and football

3. He still continues to open the door for me everywhere we go

4. He will come down and help me carry my groceries when I need help

5. He listens to my sob stories of why I can't run right now and keeps his mouth shut

6. He has a close group of friends, but a large group, that I have gotten to know and love as well

7. He is 100% a small town country boy

8. About as man as you can get, you won't find him shopping on a Saturday but on the couch watching football with a beer in his hand

9. He is complete opposite of me when it comes to always having to be moving, which teaches me it is okay to relax

10. He calls on his way home from work to talk, even though he will be home to see me in minutes

11. He accepts that I don't like red meat

12. Always willing to try one of my new healthy creations I came up with

13. Kid at heart, still snacks on gold fish and a bowl of cereal at night

14. Saved a hurt baby chick outside my apartment when we first met, kept it in a box with a light until it grew to be okay

15. Will only get his haircut by one girl back home which is an hour and a half away16. Spent his time in Vegas on a bachelor party shopping for purses for me

17. Cried when he purposed to me

18. ALways remembers to kiss me good-bye every morning before I leave

19. Loves going on long drives with nowhere to go but just drive

20. Favorite movie is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and he still watches it numerous times

21. Smart, graduated from college with not one but two degrees

22. Thinks before making any rash decisions, unlike me I just go with it

23. Has a rocking immune system, I swear the kid is never sick

24. Always gives advice, even when I don't want to hear it

25. Has managed to keep his mouth shut through this whole wedding process

26. Refuses to buy new shoes or clothes unless I pick them out

27. Always complements my butt, even though I think it is too big

28. Wonderful at cuddling

29. A great kisser :)

Well you made it through my list! A little cheesy I know, now tell me what you love about a significant other!!

Stress

This is what I have felt like doing all day today...AHHHHHHHH! I am stressed, no getting around it, eye twitching, head throbbing, stressed. Let me vent a little on why I am so stressed....

1. Just found out that on my wedding weekend there is State Wrestling being held as well as a president's volleyball tournament, which means every entire hotel is booked solid...5 months out!!! I spent my entire plan time at work calling hotels trying to book rooms for my guests and came to no luck. My only choice....the casinos which are a half hour away from my venue, last thing I had in mind :(

2. Was just notified that my venue for my reception will not accept my catering company that I have chosen after I have already met with them and picked out food. I had not a clue I had to choose from a preferred catering list.

3. I just had a new student enter my room less then 2 weeks ago, now they are leaving after I rearranged my classroom to fit an extra student (supplies, class lists)

4. Parent teacher conferences are already next week and I have nothing prepared because I have been spending my entire week so far making phone calls

5. My foot/ankle continues to stiffen throughout the day which only means more swimming, which my pool in my area is not fixed and the extra twenty minute drive a day is really starting to get annoying.

6. I have an stuffy nose with a sore throat :( I feel okay I am just sooo clogged up and I am thinking I am getting a sinus infection.

7. My car just started making funny noises in my engine, like I have extra cash to fix this one!

OKay if you made it this far in my post, I LOVE YOU :) Sometimes I just have to get a good whine in for the day when everything seems to be building up all at once. So what does a girl do when she is stressed.....

Of course hit the gym, even if that means another twenty minute drive

Look forward to the upcoming weekend and blow off some steam with a little girl time

Not going to happen, but taking a vacation to somewhere sunny and warm always helps

Turn to my two best men in the world and have them listen to my problems

Realize I have friends and an amazing Mother who will listen to my problems anytime

Finally, sometimes just getting outside and breathing in the fresh air really helps me destress

What do you turn to when you are feeling stressed??

Another Sunday

Last night was a late night for Craig and I. We ended up going downtown to watch the Husker game and met up with a few friends that we have not seen in a LONG time. We had a fun night, as you can tell from the pictures.

Craig is quite the man here with all us girls!!

This morning started with some Cream of Wheat. It was on sale the other day and I figured I would give it a shot for something different, and I loved it! I mixed it up with some yogurt and chopped apples with chocolate protein powder. Why I think Chocolate protein powder and apples go together, I am not sure....

Lately I have been falling in love with SOUP! My fave is the Select Harvest Southwestern veggie, of course I add bundles of my own veggies to the mix as well :)

I hate my soup for lunch alongside some flat bread pizza!! Turkey, mozz. cheese and tomato sauce.

No workout today for me. I figured today would be my rest day, as Sundays usually are. For one thing I was up way past my bedtime last night, and another thing is I woke up with a sore throat yesterday. Today it still is bothering me a bit, so I figured I would rest so and hopes that tomorrow I will be back to 100%!! I am planning on giving the elliptical/bike a try tomorrow morning. I have kept up with my swimming. My Achilles is still giving me a little trouble, but not extreme. If it gets worse after tomorrows workout, then Tuesday it will be back in the pool once again :) I am really crossing my fingers my community pool opens soon again so I can stop all this driving from one end of town to the other end of town. Annoying!!

During my grocery shopping experience today, I came across these little bags of Jello squares. Perfect snack for mindless eating without the guilt!! Yes, I ate the entire bag in one sitting, hey only 45 cals and hits my sweet tooth!! Now, my question is how did I manage to spend 80 bucks on groceries all for me???

How much do you spend on groceries?

What is your fav mindless eating snack?

They are Done!!

Yes! The week is over and our engagement photo session is done! Here are two sample pics above, more to come :) Yesterday, I had to take a personal day off to make time to get my hair and make up done. I can tell you one thing, I am not a girly girl and I have never had my make-up done. My stylist actually put fake eye lashes on me, they looked pretty good! Our session started at 4:00pm and went till about 8:30. By the end of the night, I was exhausted and cold...so I am sure some of those photos were horrible. Changing and running from one place to the other really beat me down. Plus...did I tell you we had our puppy Cooper too, that was a workout in itself trying to keep him still.

Returning to school today, I had about 200 papers awaiting my red check mark-blah! I managed to hit the YMCA after school again and completed a mile swim in about 50 minutes plus some killer ab work. Wednesday I cycled for about 45 min. and my ankle was still bothering me...grrr. I am walking with no pain, but any type of activity on it, I can immediately start to feel the annoyance, that it what it is more annoying then anything else. Looks like tomorrow it will be another 30 min. drive to the other YMCA to swim, our pool is STILL NOT FIXED!

Okay, time for some positive talk. The good thing about working out after work is being able to let go of all my stress from the day and also not having to start my day exhausted from waking up at 4:30am in the morning. But, I am still sold on my morning workouts and will return to them as soon as our pool is fixed.

Tomorrow is Husker Football Day!! A few of us couples are going to a bar to watch the game and then off to hear the band we hired for our wedding play.

Any football plans for the weekend?

What do you prefer, morning or after work workouts?

Life Anxiety

This weekend I cam across some Pasta Slim, aka as tofu noodles with spinach. I have been devouring these making yummy pasta sides with tomato sauce and turkey meatballs.

Alongside my famous pita bread, jelly and string cheese!

Of course, more fall foods...egg whites an pumpkin with sugar free maple syrup and pumpkin topped on top of oat bran with protein powder and Cinnamon.

My anxiety has been running on high this week and it is only Tuesday! First of all, I have a jam packed week. Tomorrow I have to leave my house by 6 am to travel an hour and a half away to do some standard writing for school assessments. Thursday I took a personal day to get our engagement photos done, exciting yes...but I had to take two days off in a row which means twice the work when I return on Friday. When I used to live five minutes away from my school, it was easier to pop in and out and catch up on things...now that I live forty minutes away, it is much harder and I have to get to work earlier and stay much later. On top of this I have so many little things that I need to do in the meantime and I am finding it impossible to get them in...like get my loan added to my car title (but the darn place closes at 4 and I don't get off work until 4) !

With my regular day to day crazy schedule anxiety comes my workout anxiety. My Achilles tendon is really starting to act up again. My last run was last Thursday, 3.5 miles. Friday I did the elliptical/cycle for an hour which the same followed on Saturday. I noticed it was a little stiff both days, but by Sunday (no activity at all on Sunday) it was even more stiff and a little sore. Monday I woke up and it felt decent, did my 40 min elliptical and 10 min cycle, and man did it stiffen up immediately. I even started to notice pain in my calf!! So....it is back to the pool and off my feet with lots of icing. But....Murphey's Law, of all times my local pool is closed for major repairs! I am one determined girl, so today I moved my workouts until the afternoon and traveled to another local YMCA by my work to swim/lift. Now having to do this is going to be a pain in the arse if you know what I mean, and extra 20 minutes out of my way. Our pool is supposed to be fixed any day now, so I am crossing my fingers. Yes, I could just not work out at all...but I would rather drive the extra 20 minutes just to get in my endorphin high.

I was surprised how much anxiety changing my routine caused, actually a little pathetic. The entire day I was worried about becoming too tired to get a good workout in, not making it home until after 7, etc. This is something I really, and I mean really need to work on...breaking my routine is not the end of the world, life goes on and things can be done in different ways.

What is something you need to work on about yourself?

Meal Plans

Is the weekend over already?? I have a love/hate relationship with Sundays because they are relaxing, but it is also the end of the weekend which is a real bummer. This weekend was nice for Craig and I. We enjoyed the weekend actually home. We did have a wedding last night a half hour away, but other then that we were in Blair, which rarely ever happens...we seem to be always on the go.

Yesterday I really worked my butt of in the gym doing over an hour of cardio with a back/shoulder workout. I felt tired and run down after my workout, more then usual so I decided I was not going to fight my body today and take a second rest day off from the gym. Usually, I try to swim on Sundays and my local pool has been closed for the last week due to repairs...so even if I wanted to swim it was not going to happen and I did not want to drive forty minutes away to go to another YMCA.

Today I want to talk a little bit about meal plans. Forever and ever, I would search google for the perfect meal plan. Someone or some map to tell me what to eat, how much, and when and that would give me the perfect body. Unfortunately, I never did find that perfect meal plan, but I realized that a perfect meal plan is simple..one that allows you to eat and feel satisfied, keeps you energy levels up and gives you plenty of variety, and also one that is maintainable that you can stick to. Now, the media will confuse you on this and throw out so many different meal plans claiming that if sticking to it you will become ripped and lean...key phrase there "sticking to it." Here are some example meal plans that I came across:

Muscle and Fitness for Hers

Breakfast: 1 scoop Whey and 1/2 cantaloupe

Breakfast 2: 2 Large Eyes, 2 slices low fat deli ham, 1/4 cup fat free cheese, 1 cup cooked oats

Snack: 4oz reduced fat greek yogurt with 1/2 cup berries

Lunch: 4oz lean ground beef, 1 wheat hamburger bun, 2 cups salad mix, 1 tbsp olive oil

Snack: 3oz chicken breast, 1tbsp light mayo, 5 wheat crackers

Dinner: 6oz chicken breast, 1 cup chopped broccoli, 2 cups salad mix, 1 tbsp olive oil

Night Snack: 3/4 cup cottage cheese 2 tbsp salsa

This comes out to be 1,835 cals/135g carbs 185 protein and 65 grams fat

P90x Energy Booster

Breakfast: 1 cup oatmeal, 6oz skim milk, 1 tbsp protein powder, 1/2oz raisins

Snack: Protein bar or shake

Lunch: 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, 9oz shrimp, 2 ounces pasta

Snack: 8oz cottage cheese

Dinner: 6 oz extra lean beef patty, 1 oz low fat cheese, 2 cups salad mix, 2 tbsp dressing, 1/2 cup fresh berries

Bodybuilding.com Jamie Eason 12 week Diet

Breakfast: 5 egg whites with 1/2 cup oats uncooked, unlimited veggies

Snack: 2 turkey muffins (160 cals) and unlimited veggies

Lunch: 6 oz meat, unlimited veggies, 1 starch serving (whole wheat tortilla)

Snack:Turkey muffins, unlimited veggies

Dinner: 6 oz meat unlimited veggies 1 serving starch

Snack: 5 egg whites

**No carbs after 7 pm and limit any fruit to two servings a day

All of these meal plans are expected to be incorporated with high volume training (5-6 workouts a week with moderate cardio activity). I would say out of the three, the most attainable one for me would be the Muscle and Fitness for hers, I find it easier to stick to a meal plan when there are several small snacks throughout the day. My least favorite is the Jamie Eason meal plan. Really...how is one expected to gain muscle on a diet consisting of egg whites, very little carbs and mostly veggies with NO FAT! The meal plan just screams binge to me.

For myself, after years of yo yoing around with diets and meal plans I found what works for me. Small meals eaten throughout the day incorporating equal amounts of carbs/proteins/fats at each meal. Here are some examples of my "small meals"

• 1 packet instant oats, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 tsp peanut butter
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt 2%, 1/2 cup cereal, 1/2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 whole wheat wrap, 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, 4 oz chicken breast
• 2 oz low fat cheese, 5 crackers
• 1 apple with 1 tbsp peanut butter

What kind of meal plan do you follow?? What are some of your quick mini meals?

Simple Machines

Tonight for dinner I stood by my theory that I love to eat by volume...roast beef salad with cherry tomatoes, chopped zucchini and shredded cabbage with light honey mustard dressing.

Apparently, if you spend over a 100 bucks a month on protein powder you eventually work your way up to a free shaker from the protein company lol.

It feels like every week I am repeating myself with the comment "I am so glad tomorrow is Friday." Really, though I am so glad tomorrow is Friday. For one, we have meetings all day and the kids are out of school, I can sit through a day of meetings for a change...I need a break from teaching for a day, especially after the crazy projects my kids have been working on.

This week we learned about Simple Machines, machines that are used to make are life easier. I gave the students four days to create whatever machine they wanted, as long as it made work easier. I was surprised how creative the students were in their projects using just recyclable materials. Here are a few...

The Stop Light made out of old gum holders

A balancing scale made out of wood levers and plastic pop bottles

Another example of a balancing scale using erasers and wood

A zip line to help move objects from one place to another without wasting gas

Finally, a robot with moving hands to help you clean and store things inside it's stomach

I am always so amazed to see these creations they come up with!!

Workout Update

I was pretty pumped to hit up the gym this morning and get a good run in. I managed a 3 1/2 mile run and my Achilles started to get a little stiff again...grrrr. I had only planed on a three mile run, so I did more then planned, but I am still bummed that I am having Achilles problems. Throughout the day I had little pain, probably a 1 so not much at all. It just seems to go in spurts and I am unsure if I should even be running on it at all...I don't feel any pain at all when running so I figure I am okay. Saturday, depending on how it feels, I want to try for four miles. I just want to get back up to my 10k distance, but I am in no rush. Doing the elliptical and biking has worked just fine for me lately :) I did get a rocking upper body workout in though..I tell ya that new Lady Gaga song really pumps me up!!

If you could create a simple machine to make your life easier...what would you create?

I would love to have a machine that automatically makes my lunches for the next day, healthy and portioned sized differently...plus a different tasty lunch every day!

What song really gets your blood flowing when working out lately?

Lady Gaga You and I

Confession Time

I am still amazed that tomorrow is already Wednesday...hump day and even better, kids are out of school of FRIDAY...no teaching for me. Sad, but sometimes I would rather sit through a meeting then have to teach.

Today's post is dedicated to a few of my confessions...I hope you enjoy!!

Confession #1 I eat in extreme volume! I would much rather have a HUGE protein shake at night rather then a small cup of yogurt for my nightly snack.

Confession #2 I go through several (I am talking like 4) tubs of protein powder a month, especially Muscle Gauge Cake Batter and Peanut Butter

Confession #3 I actually went to Borshiems and had pictures taken of the ring I wanted and had them emailed to Craig before he proposed, hey I had the ok from him :)

Confession #4 I sometimes put washing my hair off for a few days due to my love of an extra cardio burn at the gym

Confession #5 I have been known to eat whole boiled eggs and boiled egg whites as a snack in front of my kids at school and at meetings with co-workers, they think I am a little nutty

Confession #6 I watch WAY too much reality TV, I am talking Teen Mom, Jersey Shore, Brooke Knows Best, Real World, Bachelor Pad, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Real Housewives, etc.

Confession #7 I give my dog peanut butter in a spoon to sometimes keep him quiet when I eat my dinner

Confession #8 I replace all water with Propel Zero, Powerade Zero and Crystal Light...I am not so perfect

Confession #9 I still rock out to the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC on my burned cds in my car and at home from time to time

Confession #11 I still sometimes weigh my meat, I know it sounds ocd, but I never know how much is too much

Now tell me some of your confessions!!

The Best and Worst of My Sunday

Worst of Sunday: Waking up and opening my door to find this little guy with a sad a face sitting in the living room...I think his belly was full of stuffing from a pillow he ripped into shreds

Worst Part of My Sunday: Cleaning up the stuffing that literally covered every inch of my apartment

Best part of my Sunday: Enjoying an awesome breakfast with oatbran, peanut flour, chocolate protein powder, yogurt and chopped apples...followed by an hour extreme cardio workout with ab exercises and enjoying peanut butter on top of rice cakes afterwords

Worst part of my Sunday: Feeling severe stiffness in my Achilles tendon after my workout, why did I decide to do so much jump roping and knee highs, I know better :(

Best part of my Sunday: Enjoying my new fav combo of egg whites and chopped apples sprinkled with Splenda and Cinnamon

Worst Part of my Sunday: Tracking my order of Protein powder that should have arrived at my place last Thursday but I have still yet to receive it, I am crossing my fingers my apartment complex is holding it or someone stole it from outside my door :(

The number 1 best part of my Sunday: My guy Craig returned from a weekend trip in Vegas this afternoon!! Three days without him was way too long.

What are some of the best/worst parts of your day today?

Do you find it hard to get on with your life when you significant other is out of town?